Fruit and vegetable grader.



H. ANSTADT.

l FRUIT AND VEGBTABLE GRADER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1911.

Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMNA PLANOGRAPH co.,wAsmNa1-0N. D.c

L I l H. ANSTADT.

FRUIT AND VBGETABLB GRADER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1911.

1 ,002,2 1 1 Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

72 "um f E H" www,

l 9 t 2f JZ 3g 27 12 Y l 7 Z X 2 HENRY ANSTADT, OF GETTYSBURG,PENNSYLVANIA.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GRADER.

ANSTADT, a

tables, with greatly decreased, if not entire elimination of, exposureand liability to bruising the same.

A machine having carriers, such as belts with series of holes ofprogressively increasing size, has been devised, for grading orassort-ing substantially round fruits and vegetables, such as apples andtomatoes, in which the articles are moved from one series of holes toanother in succession according to size, but such movement proceeds instraight lines throughout. I have obtained better results both inassorting or grading and in obviating bruising by laterally deflectingthe several sizes from one belt to the next, and using a series ofbelts, each of the belts preferably having but a single size of holes,and the articles of larger sizes being diverted laterally from the belthaving smaller holes to the belts having larger holes,

successively or progressively, the largest` articles escaping at thedischarge end of the machine without the necessity of passing through abelt.

There has been diiiiculty in grading accurately fruit that is flat inshape, such as apples and tomatoes. Nearly all graders on the market areoperated on the principle ofV graduated centerpiece and rollers or ropesor chains, the latter serving the double purpose of carying the fruitalong and also of grading it by allowing the ditferent sizes to dropthrough as the carriers separate farther and farther from the graduatedcenterpiece, or :trom each other'i no stationary centerpiece isemployed. Evidently this can be accurate only for fruit nearly or quitespherical in shape, such as oranges or peaches; apples, having a smallerdiameter one way, are as likely as not to fall between the gradingrollers with the smaller sizes of fruit, or falling with the largerdiameter between the rollers they may be carried until they drop withthe fruit of that size. The only method of accurately grading fruit ofsuch shape, is by means of graduated circular Specification of LettersPatent.

Application led March 20, 1911.

Patented Sept. 5, 1911. Serial No. 615,731.

holes through which it must drop and which catch it by its largestdiameter no matter how it may fall upon the opening. Grading by thismethod is undoubtedly the most accurate possible for all fruit that isspherical, such as oranges and peaches, or flat, such as apples andtomatoes.

Machines have been invented employing the circular hole as the gradingmedium, but they have fallen short in one or more of the followino'requirements, which are essential: l. Simplicity. For practical servicea fruit grading machine must be simple in construction, so that it willnot easily get out of order, but will be durable, and operate with apositive and reliable action. 2. Handling. The first requirementbeingmet, the next, if not the primary consideration, is the method ofhandling the fruit. It must be handled with the utmost gentleness, so asabsolutely to prevent bruising. 3. Speed. And finally, if the machinemeets both of these tests, it has another which these help to rendermore ditlicultmamely, speed. Unless the work can be done much faster, aswell as more aocurately, than by hand, the grower or dealer will have nouse for the machine. The machine of the present invention meets theserequirements in a measure not heretofore obtained, so far as I am aware.

The invention consists of a machine for grading or assorting fruit,having a series of carriers, preferably endless belts mounted upon drumsand provided with holes, said belts arranged end for end andsuccessively out of line, with a lateral transfer arrangement by whichthe larger fruits are dislodged :trom holes through which they cannot ordo not pass and moved over to the next succeeding belt having largerholes through which they may escape; provision being made for agitatingthe fruit as it is moved along through the machine; and all ofl theparts being of such material as to minimize if not quite eliminateliability to bruising, all as I will proceed now more particularly todescribe and then claim.

By the term fruit I mean to include vegetables as well as fruits proper,and by the word grading or its derivatives or root, I mean to includeall those acts variously described by that word and such words assorting, assorting and separating.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the severalligures of which like parts are similarly designated,

Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section, substantially on the line -w, Fig. 2, looking inthe direction of the arrow, of a portion of the machine drawn on alarger scale. Fig. 4 is a partial transverse section, substantially onthe line ggg, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 is adiagrammatic view, illustrating the lifting feature.

The body may comprise side walls 1, up-

right supports 2 therefor, stringers 3, crosspieces 4, a sortingplatform 5 of canvas or any other suitable material, and a feed-hopper 6whose bottom likewise may be of canvas or of any other suitable or usualconstruction, including the well-known slatted construction to providefor the discharge of leaves and twigs.

In the const-ruction shown, there are used three grading mediums, shownas endless belts, designated respectively 7, 8 and 9, and four drums 10,11, 12 and 13, upon which these endless belts are mounted and by whichthey are given longitudinal movement. On the drum 10 is mounted adrivewheel 14, connected by a pitman 15 with a lever 16 mounted on theframe, which lever is connected by rods 17 and 18 with treadles 19 and20; although any other power may be used to drive the belts. One of theside walls 1 is used as the side wall of the trough for the belt 7, anda separate inner side wall 21 is arranged within the body to form theopposite. side wall of the trough for this belt. The other side wall 1is used as a side wall for the trough for the second belt 8, and asupplemental interior side wall 22 is provided to complete this trough.To form` the trough for the third .belt 9, the first mentioned side wall1 is used and an internal supplemental side wall 23 is provided. Thuseach belt has an independent trough to receive the fruit as it passesthrough or over the holes in that particular belt. So also, each belthas the guards 24 and 25 of canvas, rubber, or padded or other materialsloping down from the side walls to insure that the fruit falls into andis carried along in the holes provided for grading, the edge of guard 24being located away from the holes to permit t-hese operations, and theedge of the guard 25 approaching closely to the holes in its respectivetrough, so as to agitate or turn the fruit and assist it in getting intoposition to drop through the holes in the belt, if of proper size,allowing it if too large to thus escape to move forward to the next beltor belts until it finds a hole through which it may escape.

Just in front of each trough is hung a canvas or other apron 26 whichserves the purpose of pushing into a hole of the belt in the rear anyfruit that might rest upon the belt between the holes and cause suchfruit as might be small enough to pass through the holes in that belt toso drop. This apron yields to allow larger fruit when thus pushed backand settled in a hole of the belt to pass on to the next belt.

Beneath the upper surface of the Vbelt and adjacent to the drums isarranged a lifting device 27, which curves up beneath the upper surfaceof the belt and serves to eject from the holes in that belt any fruittoo large to pass through such holes and insure its being carried overto the next belt.

As shown, the intermediate or alternate belt 8 is out of line with thebelts 7 and 9, and it therefore becomes necessary to provide for thetransferring of the fruit from belt 7 to belt 8, and from belt 8 to belt9, by a cross or lateral movement thereof; and to effect this, theoutlet end of the trough of the first belt is stopped by a partition 28,of rubber, canvas, or other relatively soft or cushioning material,which has its counterpart 29 at the inlet end of the trough for belt 8,and so also the trough for the belt 8 has a corresponding but oppositelyarranged partition 30 at its outlet, while the trough for the belt 9 hasa complemental partition 31 at its inlet end.

I have found that by using a series of belts out of line, and havingeach belt with holes of uniform diameter and the holes in the successivebelts of different diameter, and providing for the transfer of fruitfrom one belt to the other by a crosswise or lateral movement, there isinsured a better feed of the fruit through the machine, and bruising thefruit is avoided. The fruit almost invariably settles in the holes, oris made to do so by means of the intercepting apron 26, and such fruitas does not pass through is properly ejected by the lifting device 27,and transferred from one belt to the other without violence. At theinlet end are the fruit diverting partitions 32 and 33 with a bottom 34adjacent thereto for directing the fruit from the sorting tablelaterally onto the first grading belt. These partitions and bottoms arelikewise of cushioning or soft material. Beneath the several belts arethe laterally opening discharge pockets 35, 36 and 37, and at the end ofthe machine is a discharge pocket 38 which takes all of the largestfruit which fails to pass through the belt 9. Throughout the machinesuch material is used as will be least injurious to the fruit that comesinto contact with it.

The operation will be readily understood, but may be summarized asfollows First the fruit is allowed by the operator to roll down from thesorting table over the apron or bottom 34, where it is directed'by theguard partitions 32, 33 into line with the holesof the first belt. Thefirst apron 26 checks the fruit from being carried along by the belt,until it falls into one of the lholes in the belt, Vand its positiontherein is made secure enough to insure its being carried along underand past the apron. Any

fruit smaller than the -holes Will drop.

through and be caught by the discharge trough or pocket, but if larger,it Will be Which Will deflect it across to the second belt; and so onthroughout the machine, As the fruit passes through the respectivetroughs, the guard 25 on the side of each which runs along even Withth-e circumference of the holes and assists in -the accuracy of thegrading, Will serve to contact With fruit of uneven shape and that mightpass through the holes of that belt Were it properly positioned, andtouches the fruit just enough to agitate it a little and change itsposition in the hole so as to permit it to escape, instead of carryingit on to the next belt and mingling With fruit of a larger size. It willbe seen that the machine, When operated at a moderate speed, willpresent the grading holes successively to receive the fruit as rapidlyas it can properly be sorted and passed on by the operator. Theemployment of a larger number of grading belts in the same series, eachsucceeding belt With holes of larger diameter, Will provide for gradingthe fruit into a larger number of sizes, if desired.

The capacity of the machine can be increased by running a number of setsof belts, and furthermore, the parts may be duplicated in such Way as toprovide for sorting fruit into what is knovvn as fancy, (that is to say,fruit perfect in color and shape), and choice, (that is to say, fruitWhich is slightly off color and irregular in shape). Of course, in thiscase, the operator will have to exercise judgment in diverting the twokinds of fruit to the proper grading belts, and a duplicate set ofdischarge pockets will be provided, opening on the opposite side of themachine. Any suitable arrangement may be provided for changing the beltsso as to suit dierent varieties of fruit.

As already sufficiently indicated, the invention is susceptible ofvariations in its structure and the materials used.

What I claim iszl. In a machine for grading fruits and vegetables, asuitable frame, a series of successive grading mediums arranged out ofline, and means to transfer laterally-fruit of one size from one gradingmedium to the next successively until it inds its appropriate medium.

l 2. In a machine for grading fruits and vegetables, a suitable frame, asuccession of movable grading mediums arranged out of line, andtransversely arranged transfer mediums interposed between the gradingmediums at their adjacent ends so as to divert the larger fruit from aninappropriate Yto an appropriate grading medium as the fruit progressesthrough the machine.

3. In a machine for grading fruits and vegetables, a suitable frame, asuccession of grading mediums arranged out of line, means to move themin the same direction, means arranged transversely between the gradingmediums at their adjacent ends to transfer the larger fruit from onemedium to the next in succession in accordance With the size of thefruit, and intercepting devices arranged at the transfer points to turnback smaller fruit and permit the larger fruit to proceed.

4. In a machine for grading fruits and vegetables, a suitable frame, asuccession of grading mediums arranged out of line, means to move themin the same direction, means arranged transversely bet-Ween the gradingmediums at their adjacent ends to transfer the larger fruit from onemedium to the next in succession in accordance with the size of thefruit, means located adjacent to the transfer points to dislodge anyfruit that may have become misplaced in the preceding grading medium andinsure its passage to the next succeeding grading medium, andintercepting devices arranged at the transfer points to turn backsmaller fruit and permit the larger fruit to proceed.

5. In a machine for grading fruits and vegetables, a suitable frame, aseries of end less belts arranged end for end and successively out ofline, drums on which the belts are mounted, and means to move said beltsin the direction of their length, each belt having holes ofsubstantially the same diameter and the holes in the successive beltsbeing of increasing diameter.

6. In a machine for grading fruits and vegetables, a suitable frame, aseries of endless belts arranged end for end and successively out ofline, drums on Which the belts are mounted, and means to move said beltsin the direction of their length, each belt having holes ofsubstantially the same diameter and the holes in the successive beltsbeing of increasing diameter, combined With transferring means to deiectthe larger of the fruit laterally from one belt to the next succeedingbelt.

7. In a fruit and vegetable grader, the combination of a frame, a seriesof endless belts mounted therein and having holes of different diameter,all of the holes in each of the several belts being of the samediameter, drums in said frame on which the belts are arranged out ofline and end for end, means to lift the fruit out of the holes throughwhich it cannot pass, and means to transfer said fruit to the neXtsucceeding belt having larger holes.

8. In a fruit and vegetable grader, the combination of a frame, endlessbelts arranged therein end for end and out of line successively, drumsfor supporting and moving said belts, each belt having its holes ofuniform diameter, and the holes in the successive belts being of larger'diameter, and guards arranged alongside of the holes and adapted to comeinto contact With the fruit to assist in its escape through or progressto a hole of the appropriate size.

9. In a fruit and vegetable grader, the combination of a frame, endlessbelts arranged therein and having grading holes,

means tb support and drive said belts, and stationary guards arrangedlengthwise of the belts on opposite sides, the edge of one of the guardsat each belt being located away from its grading holes and the edge ofthe other guard extending close to said grading holes so as to come intoContact with the fruit lodging in any of said holes and turn it so as topresent its least diameter to the hole and alloW it to escape if ofproper size or allow it to proceed if too large to escape.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of MarchA. D. 1911.

HENRY ANSTADT.

Witnesses EDGAR L. DEARDUFF, W. L. MEALs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.,

Washington, D. C.

